The “Alarm Phone” platform, which advocates for migrants, condemned the Libyan Coast Guard for intercepting a migrant boat that had departed from Lebanon, aiming to reach Italy.
In a post on Tuesday, Alarm Phone issued alerts about a large boat in danger of sinking near the Greek island of Crete. The vessel, carrying 117 people, had run out of fuel and food after setting sail from Lebanon.
The organisation reported that despite appeals from humanitarian groups for an immediate search and rescue operation to bring the migrants to a safe European port, European authorities did not respond.
The Libyan Coast Guard ultimately intercepted the migrant boat with assistance from a commercial ship in the area.
In related news, Migrant News cited a statement from the “Mare Jonio” ship, which reported receiving numerous alerts about boats in distress after departing from Libya and Tunisia. Over a 24-hour period, the ship rescued a total of 182 people.
During three separate missions, the ship first rescued 67 migrants, including 16 women and 15 children.
The second mission found 50 people, mostly unaccompanied minors, on a boat that had left the shores of Abu Kammash in western Libya four days earlier, leaving many suffering from severe dehydration.
On Sunday, August 25, the ship spotted a deteriorating fibreglass boat carrying 65 people from Syria, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who reportedly showed signs of violence endured during their time in Libya.
The central Mediterranean migration route is one of the deadliest in the world. The International Organization for Migration has recorded 1,026 migrant deaths and disappearances on this route since the start of the year.
